Yes...It Could Happen to You!

It could happen to me and it could happen to you. It could happen to anyone. It could happen to a nurse, grandparent, teacher, professional athlete, social worker, banker, store clerk, stay at home parent, secretary, nanny, doctor, or lawyer.

I’m talking about the terribly unfortunate death of a child/infant from hyperthermia (extreme elevation in body temperature) involving a vehicle. The three most common ways this happens are: 1. a distracted adult unintentionally “forgets” his infant/child in the car, 2. an adult leaves an infant/child in a car (perhaps the infant/child fell asleep or the adult just needs to “run into the store quickly”) not fully aware of the dangers, and 3. a child is playing in a car or gets hold of the car keys and lets himself into the car and gets locked in.

Most people think that a situation such as this could never happen to them, but the bottom line is that it can and it does. So far in 2010, 23 children across the country have died as a result of vehicle related hyperthermia. This is a staggering number and parents need to be aware of this issue and be proactive in preventing this tragedy from happening to them. It’s not enough to say, “I know that I’ll never leave my child in the car.” There need to be multiple layers of protection in place to reduce the chances of this happening.

Here are some simple tips to reduce the chances of a child dying in a vehicle from hyperthermia:

If you see an unattended child in a car, dial 911 immediately.

Never leave a baby/child unattended in a vehicle, even with the window slightly open.

If your child is missing, check your vehicles immediately.

Never leave a baby/child unattended in a vehicle, regardless of the outside temperature or length of time.

Place something that you will need at your next stop – for example, a purse, lunch, gym bag or briefcase – on the floor of the backseat where the child is sitting. This simple act could prevent you from accidentally forgetting your child if he or she is sleeping.

Be especially careful if you change your routine for dropping off babies/children at child care. Have a plan that if your child is late for child care, you will be called within a few minutes.

Teach children not to play in any vehicle. Never allow children to play in a vehicle.

Always lock a vehicle’s doors and trunk once everyone is out of the car – especially at home. Always keep keys and car remotes out of the reach of children and locked up.

Watch children closely around vehicles, particularly when loading and unloading. Check to ensure all children leave the vehicle when you reach your destination. Do not overlook sleeping babies. Make it a habit every time you get out of the car to double check every seat in the vehicle to be sure everyone is out.

Set up a buddy system with your significant other or a friend and call each other every day after day care/school drop off time to be sure the children were, in fact, dropped off.

Set your PDA/computer to alarm and ask “Did you drop off the kids?” every day just after school/day care drop off time as an extra reminder.

Keep a bright, large object (such as a hot pink stuffed animal) in the back seat that you move to the front seat (keep in a visible place) every time you put your child in the car to serve as a reminder that your child is still in the car. (Note: do not keep a stuffed animal with an infant in the back seat)

Be aware of how fast a car can heat up. A study in Pediatrics from 2005, showed that when the outside ambient temperature is between 72-96 degrees, the temperature inside a car rises as follows:
- In 10 minutes the temperature inside a car rises almost 20 degrees.
- -- 20 minutes ------------------------------------------------------------ 30 degrees.
- -- 30 minutes ------------------------------------------------------------ 35 degrees.
- -- 60 minutes ------------------------------------------------------------ 45 degrees.
- -- 1-2 hour ---------------------------------------------------------------- 45-50 degrees.
So, if it’s 85 degrees outside, in 20 minutes the temperature inside the car can reach about 115 degrees!!

The only way that we as parents are going to be able to reduce the chances of hyperthermia deaths from happening is to face the realization that it can happen to anyone, and put preventative measures into place immediately. It’s not enough to simply say, “It won’t happen to me”.